Generally, people want to make their pets or animal companions as comfortable as reasonably possible. In this regard, pet owners often provide “safe places,” i.e., familiar, comfortable places, for their pets to retire to when tired or scared. These “safe places” may take the form of, for example, a favorite corner of a room, a doghouse or a pet bed. Pet beds are popular among pet owners. In fact, pet bed displays frequently take up large display areas in pet shops and pet supply stores. That retail establishments devote so much space to pet beds is indicative of their popularity among pet owners.
Often times pet owners travel with their pets. Prior art methods of traveling with pets, especially when using public modes of transportation (e.g., planes, trains or buses), require that the animal be contained for the safety of both the animal and other passengers. Likewise, when traveling by private vehicle (e.g., car, private plane), pet owners often contain their pet for the pet's protection in the event of an accident and/or to prevent the pet from becoming a nuisance to the driver and passengers. Prior art devices for the containment of a pet during travel (e.g., pet crates and cages) typically consist of hard plastic boxes with ventilation holes and a door. Other examples of pet containment devices found in the prior art are wire cages with, sometimes, a hard plastic base. Cushions are available to place in the crate or cage for the comfort of the animal. For smaller animals (ie., small dogs and cats) soft-sided devices resembling shoulder bags are available.
The problem with prior art devices for traveling with animals is that the animal tends to be unfamiliar with the device (i.e., the pet carrier) or associates the device with unfavorable or even frightening events such as being locked in the baggage compartment of a public transportation vehicle or traveling to the veterinarian's office. Therefore, what is needed is a device for containing and traveling with an animal that the animal associates with pleasurable, safe, secure activities and events so that, when travelling, the animal can have a level of familiarity and comfort not associated with currently available pet carrier devices.